And there is also the expectation of "But the IETF document still plays a subordinate role to that source code.'' in the original article. However one interesting expectation or requirement of IETF standards is that one expects at least one, ideally two, independent implementations based on the written spec. This would alleviate the concerns that the VP8 case is too leading - as one has now an example of an independently derived code base - which has taken the written spec as its lead - and secondly it would also give the community a very fair idea as to any residual IPR issues, by Google or by others. Thanks, Dw.

Most modern (even the low end) registers allow for saving the transactions to a memory card, or can be polled (or can act as a 'stupid termina' when wired up -- but that requires a lot more software). The low end units typically store the output as ascii; very akin to the format you find on the paper tape; i.e. as would be written to the printer (at the end of the day, or as a carbon copy). Some, e.g. Sharp, have a more readily parsed format, basically CSV, which is easier to handle - or can even do html!. Keywords to search for (with the latter vendor) are SDW; or in general 'in-line' support. At the very extreme end - consider a POS application (or perhaps even http://www.checkoutapp.com/) with just a cash-drawer, a printer and no till at all. These are generally 'unlocked' easily and a lot of have a simple printerport connection to which you can send an 'esc' 'O' command -- akin to the old EPSON FX-80 era world. Dw.